The Book of Mormon and Adventures in Hollywood

Hey, Adventurers! With The Book of Mormon leaving LA this weekend, I thought it'd be fitting to blog about my adventure watching this hilarious musical and exploring Hollywood.

Pantages Theater

California Adventure: The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, CA

With Mother's Day just around the corner, why not do something unexpected and early this year? Usually, people take their moms out to eat and bring her some flowers. But this year, why not bring her to the flowers?

The Flower Fields

Located in Carlsbad, CA, The Flower Fields are 50 acres of blooming colors. My mom learned about the fields on TV and desperately wanted to see them so we stopped by The Flower Fields before our trip to Legoland.

An Adventure to Legoland California

Legoland California

Hello, Adventurers! Today, I'm talking about the rest of my trip to Legoland California! (If you missed my post on "The Lego Movie Experience," be sure to check it out HERE!)

You see, the last time I went to Legoland was over a decade ago - around the time the park first opened! I remember there was only a handful of rides in the park and it seeming more like a museum of lego models. Fast forward to today and there are substantially more rides! However, I didn't end up going on any big rides because the lines were way too long! All the interesting rides had wait times of at least an hour, which I just wasn't really up for. (As a sidenote, Legoland really needs to make the signs for wait times a lot bigger. You basically have to walk up to the end of the queue before you can see what the little number says so it'd be nice if you can just see the wait time from a distance.) The only ride my brother and I did end up on was the BIONICLE Blaster, Legoland's version of the spinning teacups, and that was only because the ride had a 10-minute wait.

MINILAND USA

Legoland - Painted Ladies in San Francisco

Aside from missing out on most of the rides, I did enjoy Miniland USA, an area of lego models of major US landmarks. It was my favorite part of Legoland when I went as a kid and it still remains one of my favorite attractions.

Legoland - Golden Gate Bridge

They have a mini San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge.

Legoland - Las Vegas

There's a mini version of the Las Vegas strip.

Legoland - Capitol Building

And a model Washington, D.C. as well as other major cities like New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and the New England area.

STAR WARS MINILAND

Legoland - Star Wars Miniland

One of my brother's favorite areas was Star Wars Miniland, where the Master Builders recreated scenes and planets from the Star Wars movies.

Legoland - Millennium Falcon

My favorite had to be the fallen AT-AT.

Legoland - AT-ATs

GRANNY'S APPLE FRIES

Granny's Apple Fries in Castle Hill

My family and I ate lunch at Costco (right outside the park) to save money, but we did splurge on Legoland's famous Granny's Apple Fries located in Castle Hill.

Granny's Apple Fries Price ($5.45)

These apple fries are made with Granny Smith apples, dusted with cinnamon sugar, and served with vanilla whipped cream.

Granny's Apple Fries

The tartness from the apples mixed with the batter and cinnamon sugar made it seem like we were eating a deconstructed apple pie, but without the thicker pie crust. I've never had anything like them before.

SEA LIFE AQUARIUM

Sea Life Aquarium

Our 1-Day Park Hopper tickets included admission to Legoland's Sea Life Aquarium - an attraction that wasn't there when Legoland opened years ago. (A quick Google search revealed that the Sea Life Aquarium opened in 2008.)

Lego Submarines

Inside, you see tanks of fish, sharks, jellyfish, stingrays, and other sea creatures with lego divers and submarines.

Lego Diver with Stingray

The entire aquarium takes about an hour to walk through and includes some interactive tide pools and trivia questions.

Lego Submarine with Shark and Stingray

I personally prefer the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, but it was interesting to see lego models in an aquarium.

Overall, Legoland California seems like a great place to bring kids. Most of the kids I saw were 12 and under and you could see they were having loads of fun! I wish Legoland would instigate some sort of Fast Pass program so the wait times don't seem as long for rides though. However, "The Lego Movie Experience" pretty much made the trip worthwhile for me so be sure to read about that part of my adventure!

The Pain of Stepping on Lego Bricks

For now, I leave you with this hilarious collage of a dad stepping on lego bricks - something most parents can relate to. Seriously, the Master Builders at Legoland have a great sense of humor.

The Lego Movie Experience @ Legoland California

CAUTION: This post is picture heavy! :)

Adventurers, who saw The Lego Movie and LOVED it!? Did you know that you could see the actual movie sets at Legoland California? It's all in "The Lego Movie Experience" and yes, EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!

The Lego Movie Experience

I was lucky enough to go to Legoland over spring break with my family and one of the first things we went to see was "The Lego Movie Experience."

Welcome to Finn's Basement!

The sets were so elaborate and truly amazing.

Travel Adventure: San Francisco Highlights 2013 (Part 2)

Hi everyone! Here's Part 2 of highlights from my trip to San Francisco! If you missed out on Part 1, you can read about it here.

FERRY BUILDING
1 Ferry Bldg
San Francisco, CA 94111

Ferry Building

Every Saturday, the Ferry Building hosts a huge farmer's market from 8am to 2pm. There's also smaller farmer's markets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 2pm, but we went on Saturday. I'm a big fan of farmer's markets because you never know what you're going to find.

Purple Bell Peppers

Just check out these purple bell peppers! I had never seen them before so I bought a few to take home. The guys working the stand were really friendly and informative. Apparently, purple bell peppers are equivalent to green bell peppers in taste and eventually turn a reddish orange color when ripe. The workers warned me that although the purple color is gorgeous, the color will cook out and turn gray. In the past, some customers came back to complain about the color change so they wanted to make sure I knew ahead of time, which I thought was really upfront and considerate of them.

Lobster Mushroom

Inside the Ferry Building, there's a shop that specializes in mushrooms. I've always wanted to try lobster mushrooms but since they wouldn't have held up on our long road trip back, I had to sadly part ways. If you know where to get lobster mushrooms in LA, please let me know!

Obsidian Knives

At the farmer's market, there's also a large section for art and craft vendors who always have interesting items for sale. If you watch or read Game of Thrones, you'll understand just how amused I was at seeing obsidian knives! But they're not just any obsidian knives, they're hand-crafted with handles made from wood or animal bones. If the White Walkers come, I know where I'll be getting armed. ;)

Old-fashioned Bike

The Ferry Building even has bike rentals. I thought it was cool that you could rent this old-timey bike and ride in style.

MIETTE PATISSERIE
1 Ferry Bldg, Ste 10
San Francisco, CA 94111  

Miette Patisserie

One of the bakeries on my list of places to try was Miette Patisserie. Fortunately for me, there was one inside the Ferry Building!

Miette Patisserie - Macaron Display

They had so many delicious-looking pastries and a nice array of macaron flavors.

Miette Patisserie - Strawberry Macaron (Seasonal)

I tried the Strawberry Macaron, which was a seasonal flavor. Honestly, I thought it was a standard macaron. Nothing special. (I was spoiled by Laduree macarons so now nothing quite compares.)

Miette Patisserie - Mini Scharffen Berger Cake ($6.50)

One of Miette's most famous items is their Scharffen Berger Cake, which is made with high quality Scharffen Berger cocoa (I believe) and covered in chocolate ganache.

Miette Patisserie - Mini Scharffen Berger Cake (Inside)

I liked the thick layer of ganache, but wasn't a big fan of the cake overall. I thought it was a little expensive at $6.50, but they did use top-quality ingredients. For some reason, the cake just wasn't as moist and decadent as I thought it would be. 

Miette Patisserie - Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich

My friend bought a chocolate ice cream sandwich, which cost somewhere around $5. As he was paying, he promptly stated he wasn't sharing so I can't comment on it, but he looked like he was having a food-gasm with every bite. I'm going to assume it was good. Really good.

HOG ISLAND OYSTER CO.
1 Ferry Bldg, Shop 11
San Francisco, CA 94111

Hog Island Oyster Co. Booth

Hog Island Oyster Co. had a booth behind the Ferry Building during the farmers market, but they also have a brick and mortar restaurant within the building. What's nice about Hog Island is that if you tell them it's your first time, they let you have your first oyster for free.

Hog Island Oyster Co. - Atlantic (left) and Pacific (right) Oysters ($2 each)

To be honest, I was never a fan of oysters because I didn't like the texture or flavor. I have also avoided raw oysters because of the risk of food poisoning. However, when I saw that oysters were only $2 a shuck, I decided to give it a chance. YOLO, right? To my surprise, I really enjoyed them! They smelled like the sea and weren't fishy at all. The Atlantic (Spring Creek) oyster was more briny, while the Pacific (Kusshi) oyster  was more buttery and sweet. I ate these with a squeeze of lemon so I could really enjoy the oyster's natural flavor and found I liked the Spring Creek oyster a little more, but my friend preferred the Kusshi.

SAN FRANCISCO CABLE CAR/TROLLEY

San Francisco Cable Car/Trolley

To get from the Ferry Building to Chinatown, my friends and I decided to be super touristy and take the cable car/trolley. It costs $6 one way and made for a fun one-time thing. Now we can say we've ridden a San Francisco cable car!

GOLDEN GATE BAKERY
1029 Grant Ave
(between Jackson St & Pacific Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94133

Golden Gate Bakery - Line

Now for the star of the trip for my tastebuds and tummy! In Chinatown, I finally got to try Golden Gate Bakery! We waited over 30 minutes in line (my friend was able to go to the bank, buy boba, and finish his boba before we reached the counter), but after trying their famous egg tarts, I have to say the wait was worth. every. minute.

Golden Gate Bakery - Egg Tart ($1.35)

I consider myself a bit of an egg tart connoisseur. I love them and if a bakery or restaurant offers egg tarts, I've tried them. So you can trust me when I say these egg tarts are good. Really good. Literally, the BEST EGG TARTS EVER!!! The custard is wonderfully eggy and I loved the large custard-to-flaky-crust ratio. You have to eat (at least) one fresh while it's still warm. You won't regret it. It's food-gasm status. Seriously. Do it.

Golden Gate Bakery - Egg Tart (Cross-section)

I decided to splurge and bought a whole dozen ($16.20) so I could take some home to share with family. I was a little bummed that Golden Gate Bakery doesn't offer a discount for buying a dozen, but with egg tarts this good, $1.35 for one is worth every penny. I'll definitely be back in the future.

So there you have it! All the highlights from my most recent trip to San Francisco. Hopefully, you found something interesting and useful if you ever visit. If you have any recommendations for other places in San Francisco to try or see, please feel free to comment below.